Life After Death
by Evilgothicstick
Summary: What happened after The Last of Us? Good question, me. This is the story of what happened to Joel and Ellie after the game finishes in my opinion. This is my first story, so any constructional criticism will be gladly received.
1. Chapter 1

**Life After Death**

A shred of dark wallpaper began to peel from the damp wall, revealing another, darker wallpaper.

'Stop that, Ellie.'

'But i'm bored, theres nothing to do in this place.' Replied a red haired girl, continuing to peel the wallpaper.

'Go play with the other children then, I heard there collecting wood for a bonfire.'

'I don't want to. All they want to do is play and mess around.' Said Ellie, in a very normal tone to any 15 year old girl.

It was the only normal thing she seemed to do for her age. Even nine months into living in Tommy's town, Ellie could not adapt to it's lifestyle. She rarely spoke to children her own age, in fact she rarely spoke to anyone, except of course for one bearded man.

'well...' Joel sighed, picking himself up from the workbench, away from his _homemade _guitar (which he crafted from a wooden plank and string he found in a draw somewhere). 'what do you want to do then?'

Ellie's face brightened, and the neglected wallpaper was finally left in peace. 'We can go for a walk up in the forest.'

'Alright then, just a few hours. We need to get back before dark.' Although much less visible than Ellie's, Joel's face also brightened. He was usually happy knowing Ellie was too.

'Yess!'

They both walked out of their small two (it had once been three) bedroom house, through the shiv opened front door into the town. The house had been kindly given to them by the town founder, and brother of Joel, Tommy. It wasn't much compared to Joel's previous home, which he left nearly 22 years ago, but it was better than what most people had. The ever increasing population of the town had forced most people into living in tents or houses crowded by 4 or 5 families. It wouldn't be long until Tommy would have to refuse people coming in, after all, theres only so much charity a man can give.

'Can we stop here?' Ellie asked, pointing at a large rock.

'Why not.' answered Joel, taking a deep breath.

He needed the stop, he had become a lot less fitter since first arriving at the town, as well as getting older. The stress of his past had finally caught up with him too, resulting in his hair turning gray and his skin thinning. They both sat down on the boulder facing the town and the sunset.

'Do you remember? we first saw the town from here.' Said Ellie, still full of energy. The arrival to the town had had the opposite effect on her. The larger, healthier diet (thanks to the crops and cow fields), and extra sleep had made here grow at least two inches in the past nine months, as well as giving her a stronger physic. 'Remember I asked you about what happened in the hospital?'

Joel stiffened into an uneasy posture 'uhm... yeah.'


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_Crack, crack. _'Gunshots!' cried Ellie. 'It's coming from the power plant!'

The power plant was under attack and in full view of Joel and Ellie. Suddenly an explosion erupted inside the plant, then another, and another. It was being torn to pieces, leaving the two to only stare at the destruction of fire and its creator.

Ellie began to run down to the town, turning her head towards a stagnant Joel. 'Shit! C'mon Joel, we got help!'

Joel looked at Ellie wide eyed and shook his head. 'We can't, theres too many... and we don't even have our weapons.'

'Are you serious!? Your brothers there, we got to help him!' Cried Ellie, her voice began to choke from her tears.

'Thats enough Ellie, were survivors.' Said Joel in an emotionless voice. 'We have our backpacks, so we can stay here for the night, and by sunrise the fighting will be over and we can go back. Tommy and the others can hold their own just fine.'

Ellie knew it was a lie, just like she knew his story about the fireflies was a lie. It was the same tone, it was even the same place, but what could she do? In the end she simply nodded and said 'Okay'.

The sun rose at five and Ellie and Joel got up. Nether had much sleep, the cracking of gunshots only lasted a few hours, but it was enough to twist their dreams into nightmares. There was still a small fire to be seen from the outside of the plant, but there was no conflict to be seen or heard.

Neither said a thing as they came walking down into the town. The two guards manning the entrance were nowhere to be seen, and the once loud sounds of the town's people had evaporated into the air. They both began to be very weary of their surroundings, as they had done so many times before, as they walked to what was left of the power station.

'Were the fuck is everyone?' said Ellie 'They can't all have died'

'Some run, some hide.' answered the sleep deprived man, as he walked past a trail of blood leading to someone who wasn't good at either. Joel picked up a 9mm pistol from the young bodies hand and sighed as he looked into the magazine. 'two bullets... back to survivor mode'.

As they began to near the power station, dead bodies became more frequent, but still nothing living. Ellie noticed a young boy her age lying flat on his back, with a few holes through his chest. He had been the boy that asked her if she wanted to play on several occasions, of which she had always declined. Now she was glad she didn't, otherwise the niggling choke in her throat might have been something to worry about.

'Ellie get down.' Joel whispered 'I see someone.' They both crouched behind the nearest dust bin, peering out to see two strangers.

'How long do we have to be here?' said the first stranger.

'Until the others comeback from the search.'

The first stranger snorted. 'Ha, more like the hunt. I don't think they want them alive anymore.'

'If you ask me this has gotten all to personal, I didn't sign up for this.' The stranger took a look at the town with a sigh. 'Reckon this _was_ a nice place to live.'

'It's better than the quarantine zone, I guess... anyway, shut up and go search the rest of the town' Commanded the first stranger.

They both walked of in separate directions towards the main part of the town, leaving the entrance to the power station wide open. Joel quickly threw himself over the bin and ran to the entrance, closely followed by Ellie. In front of them lay the wastes of the station.

'Fuck, they really wanted this think destroyed, but why? I mean it's not...' Ellie stopped, turning her head towards Joel. In front of him sat a man, tied up to the chair by ropes. He had a wet bag over his head, which Joel lifted quickly.

'No.'


End file.
